Wicket-gate for water-wheels



J. C. BRITCHER;

WICKET GATE FOR WVATER WH'EELS.

APPLICATION FlLED Nov, 20. 1919.

1 ,357,440. Patented Nov. 2, 1920;

2 sHEETS-SHEEI 2.

MN m e UNITE STATES PATENT QFFICE.

JOHN G. BRITCHER, OF YORK, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO S. MORGAN SMITH COMPANY, OF YORK, PENNSYLVANIA,

A CGBPORATON OF PENNSYLVANIA.

WCKET-GATE FOR W ATER- NHEELS.

Application filed November 20, 1919.

Be it known that I, JOHN C. BRITCHER, a citizen of the United States, residing at York, in the County oi' York and Stateof Pennsylvania, have inrented certain new and useful improvements in icket-Gates for ater lVheels, of which the 'following is a specification.

This invention relates to the means for controlling the flow o'f water or other fluid to a turbine or other motor wheel. The invention is intended more particularly for application to water Wheels bnt may, of Course, be used in Connection With other forms oi' fluid driven rotary motors. lt is Customer-y in constructing and setting up water wheels to surronnd the same with series of wickets or gates which are pivotally mounted and turnable about their piV- ots so that in one extreme position the edge ot' one Wicket or gate will bear against the face of an adjacent wicltet and thereby ont oil the flow of water or other driving fluid while in another extreme position the gates Will stand radially or -:ubstantially parallel and thcreby admit a full flow of water or other fluid to the motor wheel. The wickets can, of Course, le set at any intermediate position as 'circmnstances inay demand. The wiclrets, as now generally constructed, are c: st ot' solid metal and are, therei'ore, very heavy and eXpensiVe and the edg'e of the Wioket is frequently so rough that it will not make a good contact With the surtace oi? the adjacent wicket and must be filed, or otherwise out away so as to make a good contact with the 'Face of the adjacent Wicket. This operation is laborions, timeconsnining and expensive and is, furthermore. :frequently unsatisfactory for the reason that the face of the adjacent Wioket is apt to be rough so that an imperiect joint or contact will be formecl notwithstanding that a perfectly straight smooth' edge be* produced upon the contacting wicket. It is the object of my invention to provide a Wicket Which will be light, easily and cheaply produced, and* which may be readily adjusted so as to provide a pertectly tight joint or contact with the face of an adjacent wicket. I attain this object, and such other objects as will incidentally hereinafte-r appear, in such a Structure as is illnstrated in the accompanying drawings and hereinafter fully set forth.

Speciflcaton of Letters Petent.

Patented Nov. 2, 1920. Serial No. 339,405.

In the drawings Figure l is a perspective View of several wiclrets or gates in operative relation;

Elg. 2 is a plan View of a blank from which a gate may be formed;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged perspective View of a 'partly forined 'gate or wicket;

a a longitudinal section through a completed gate;

Fig. 5 is a section on the line 5-5 of Fig. et.

In carrying ont my invention, I first produce a blanlr of inalleable iron or steel Which need be only thick enough to Withstand the foros or" water striking against the same when in use, The blank l shown in Fig. 2 and consists oi' a rectangular body pro- Vided at one end on each side edge with a tongue or tab 2 having its outer edge disposed obliquely with respect to the side edge of the body'ot the blank so that the tab or tong'ue tapers toward the adjacent end of the blank body, the said obliquely disposed edge meeting the blank at the corner of the same. The inner end of the tab or tongue, or that end more remote from the corner of the blank is semi-circular, as shown at 8, and at the junction of the blank body with the said semi-circular end of the tongue I form a Square shoulder 4 which is equal in extent to the thickness of the blank and is preferably so disposed that it will extend partly into the body of the blank. The pro- Vision of this Square shoulder et permite the blank to be so folded, in the 'formation oi? the wicl-zet, that there will be no projections on the outer surface of the wicket but the edge of the wall of the wicket will lie fiush with the outer surface oi the tab or tongue 2. Openings 5 are :formed through each tab or tong'ue 2 and similar openings 6 are provided through the blank body near each end edge of the same and it is to be noted that' the inner or semi-circular ends of the tabs or tongues are not located in a plano passing' through the transverse center of the blank but are between said center and that end of the blanlr into which the tongnes merge. The purpose of this arrangeinent will presently appear. The described blank having been produced, the tongues or tabs 2 are folded along lines coinciding -with the side edges of the blank body and thereby assume the position shown in Fig. 3. Reinforcing blocks 7 are then placecl in position upon the blank body at the inner sides of the upstanding tabs or tongues and these reinforcing blocks are similar in shape to the tabs or tongues so that the edges of the blocks will lie fiush with the edges of the tongues. vided near their narrower ends with openings 8 and one of the blocks is provided with an additional opening 9 near its arouate end. These blocks may be of the 'same material as the blank but should be somewhat thicker' in order that they will firmly support the sides and ends ot the completed gate and prevent collapse oct the same. While malleable iron or steel will answer the purposes of my construction, brass or copper may be used and may Sometimes be preferred. When iron or steel is used, the wiclet should be galvanized or otherwise treated so as to' resist the corrosive action of the water. It will be noted that openings 10 are formed through the reinforcing blocks 7 and openin 's ll are provided in the blank adjacent the side edges thereof to register with said openings 10. The reintorcing blocks having been placed in *position as indicated in Fig. 8, the portion of the blank extendingbeyond the said tongues or tabs 2 is bent up and over, as indicated in Fig. 3, so that it may be caused to engage around or bear against the arcuate end edges and the inclined side edges of the tabs or tongues.

When it has been folded into this position,

rivets or fastening pins 12 are inser'ted through the 'blank and the blocks 7 so as to secure the parts firmly together. The pivot rod of the gate, shown at 13 may be inserted through the outer openings 5 of the tabs or tongues and the openings 8 in the blocks 7 nearer the smaller ends of said blocks to pivotally secure the wicket between the supporting rings 14: in the usual manner. The operating ring 15 is connected with the several gates by links l'which are Secured to the gates by screws 17 inserted through that opening 5 of the tabs or tongues 2 which is located nearer the semicircular end thereof and into the corresponding opening 9 of the adjacent reinforcing block. Inasmuch as the .extreme length of'thetabs or tongues 2 is lessthan half the extreme length of the blank body, when the blank is folded to complete the gate the' free end edge of the blank will project beyond the opposite end edge of the blank, as shown most-clearly at' 18 in Fig;

5. Inasmuch as the material is malleable or ductile this projeeting free edge may be readily bent, as indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 5, to accommodate the relativo positions of adjacent wickets and thereby be' brought into proper contact with the face of The reintorcing bloclrs are proan' adj acent wicket so that all the wickets may be swung to ully closed position and a tight joint e'ected throughout the series. l ivets ?1.9 are inserted through the openings 6 to secure the edges of the blank together and, if desired, the joints lormed hy the meeting surfaces of the several parts may be brazed or otherwise filled so that the wicket' will be made fiuid-tight.

It will be readily noted from the foregoing' description, taken' in connection with the accompanying drawings, that I have provided a hollow wiclzet which may be cheaply and rapidly produced and which will obviously be very light in weight. A The wicket may be very easily operated also by reason of its light Weight and as it has a bendable or foldable projecting lip or edge a fluid-tight joint between adjacent wickets may be very readily attained and leakage of the driving fluid, when the gates are in closed position,' will be thereby efFectually prevented. k

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. A wicket for fluid-driven motors comprising end walls of substantially. triangular form, and side walls fitting flush upon the edges of said triangular end walls with' the side edge of one side wall projecting beyond the adjacent edge of the meeting side wall.

2. A 'wicket for fluid-driven motors provided at one edge with a bendable longitudinal lip.

3, A wicket for fluid-driven motors comprising end walls of substantially triangular form, and side walls fitting upon the edges of the' end walls flush with the outer surfaces of said walls, one side wall being integral with the end walls and the other side wall being integral with the first-mentioned side wall, the end walls filling the entire space between the side walls.

4. ,A hollow wicket of bendable material having end walls of'substantially triangular form and side walls hearing upon the the sides and the adjacent end of the body,

the said tongues being foldable upon linescoinciding with the side edges of the body. In testimonv Whereof I afix my signature.

JOHN o. BBITCHER. L. 5, 

